IELTS Reading Practice: Sentence Completion

An exercise for IELTS Reading Sentence Completion. Read the passage below and then answer the questions.

The War on Smoking

Make no mistake, the move to introduce plain packaging is just the latest front in the war against smoking. Over the past decade, there has been a ban on smoking in public places and moves to restrict displays in shops. But one of the issues that has been concerning health experts and ministers is the number of people who continue to take up smoking, particularly young people.
More than 200,000 under-16’s start in the UK each year – helping ensure a viable market remains for manufacturers once the number of people quitting and dying is taken into account. In countries like the UK where there is a ban on advertising, the pack remains the last major vehicle for promotion. Hence the detail and care taken in the design of the packets with their laminated and special print effects, foil decorations and slide openings and bevelled edges. It should come as no surprise therefore to learn that they have become known as the “silent salesman” and “mobile billboard” within the industry. They are that important. (Passage from here)

Questions 1-4

Complete the sentences. Choose no more than two words and / or a number from the passage for each answer.

  1. …………………… is the most recent strategy to tackle the problem of smoking.
  2. The large number of new smokers, particularly under 16’s, makes certain that cigarette companies will always have a ……………………………….. .
  3. In some countries, packaging is the only method that cigarette companies have for ………………….
  4. Packets are seen as being the ………………………………….. in the cigarette industry.

Answers

Click below to reveal the answers.

Answers
1. plain packaging
2. (viable) market
3. promotion
4. silent salesman / mobile billboard (you should choose one answer. If you put both, it is an incorrect answer

All reading exercises on ieltsliz.com have been written by myself to help you prepare for your IELTS test.   

Liz

VocabBuilder
  • the latest front = the most recent development
  • to establish = to introduce
  • makes certain = helps ensure
  • only method of = the last vehicle for
  • edge = side
  • are seen as being = have become known as
  • come as no surprise = be expected

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Comments

  1. Marianne says

    Hi Liz
    for question number 2, can the answer be “market”?

    • Yes, definitely. I’ve just put brackets round the word “viable” to make that clear. In this case, the word “viable” is an extra word that is value to the sentence, but even without it, the sentence makes sense with the same meaning.

  2. Mehedi says

    In Question 3, can I write advertisement in place of promotion?

    • No, because the passage clearly states: “…the pack remains the last major vehicle for promotion”.

  3. Chalani says

    Hi liz,
    For no.2 , Can the answer be viable marketing?

    • No, it isn’t possible. We can’t have “a marketing” as a noun and the sentence contained the article “a” which gives a hint about the noun you need to put in. Always check the grammar in the sentence given.

  4. Abbigail says

    Hi Liz,
    for sentence no.4 can the answer be silent salesmen since? the word “packets” is in plural form.

    • No, it doesn’t work because referring to something as a silent salesman is an expression. Also then the article refers to “packets”, it is not referring to many individual packets, but the concept of packets as a whole. Lastly, you need to take the word from the passage without changing it. All questions in the IELTS will have been written by professionals and checked over many many times to ensure each question can only be answered by a word directly from the passage. This is actually one thing I want you all to get used from my reading lessons – take the word or words directly from the passage without altering them.

  5. Hassan Kareem says

    Hello Liz,
    How are you?
    I’m thankful to you for the video lessons and practice tests that you share with us absolutely for free.

    While practicing IELTS Cambridge sentence completion ques, I have got confused over a question.

    The question is “The company initially had problems getting the _________ needed for the project.”

    The sentence in passage is “The organisation had difficulty in raising the funding for such a radical and expensive scheme, not least because of the critical articles printed by the press.”

    I filled the blank with “funds” while the answer key is “funding”. Will my answer be regarded as correct or not?

    • It would be marked wrong. You can’t alter the word in the passage. You must write the word that is in the passage. This is the same with the listening test, you must write the word you hear in the recording.

  6. Hello Liz,
    first of all, i should thank you for this amazing helpful website, it helped me a lot about the test,
    i want to ask about “the multiple choice type” , it is not mentioned in the GT reading sample tasks on ielts.org , it is only mentioned on the academic reading.
    thank you for every thing

  7. Martina Dos Santos says

    Hi Liz, you are a God-send. I was a nervous wreck, didn’t know where to start, or how to answer the questions, but because of your thoroughness and superb ability to explain, I’m confident to go and write the exam, for the second time. You are the best. I stumbled upon your website by accident, but it’s the best thing that could ever have happened to me. Thank you for your patience by helping so many of us. May God bless you abundantly.

    • I’m so glad you feel more confident. The more aware you become of the test, the better you will feel. Make sure to review this page as well: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-help-faq/. Also make sure you are using the IELTS Cambridge test books because they are real tests published by IELTS. Wishing you lots of luck in your test!! 🙂

  8. Tirasiti says

    You’re a great teacher Liz. Just subscribed to your online lessons. I hope you’re not well, reading from comments section, I have noted you were not feeling well. God bless you 🙏

  9. Neeti says

    Thank you Liz.
    I got 4/4

  10. Jackson Chuks says

    was easy i got 4/4 lol thank you again liz

  11. Grace says

    Hi Liz
    I pray for fast recovery on your health. You are the best teacher i have ever known, you are an inspiration to me. Your method of teaching encourages me a lot. i will be so delightful to meet you in future. Always keep smiling and continue to impact lives.
    Thank you so much.

  12. Olisah chikamso says

    I found out about this website not up one week now, I must confess, this is an eye opener and I am no longer afraid of the exam, I am still going through everything on your website ma, I must confess u are the best… thank you ma… I am looking forward to sharing my result soon when am done writing….

    • I’m glad you are gaining confidence. Make sure you also use authentic IELTS tests published in the IELTS Cambridge test books.

  13. Hello Ma’am,
    Trust you feel well and better.
    Could No. 4 be answered as:
    Salesman/Billboard.
    Thank you.

    • That would be marked incorrect. The inverted commas show you that these are expressions – noun phrases. You shouldn’t split the words up.

  14. Favour says

    Wow,my answers are absolutely correct
    I’m improving
    Thank you ma’am

  15. Md Shahrier Haider says

    Will it be wrong if I write the words with the inverted commas (“silent salesman”)?

  16. Hi liz,
    I am a new subscriber and September 15th,2020 is my ielts examination date for academic UKVI.
    How can I access your previous posts in (videos) form for each component(questions) in reading section.?

  17. Sanjit Jeevanand says

    Got 4/4 thank you Elizabeth

  18. Adekola says

    You are really making ielts easy for one to study. Thank you Liz

    • The aim is to build confidence and awareness of techniques. Once you’ve mastered that, try applying them to real IELTS tests.

  19. Dear Liz,
    Thank you for the great material and for being so kind always in your videos.
    You are my guide in this dark IELTS trip…I just started. I appreciate your free example for students.

    All the best to you!!

    YHC

  20. Dipti says

    Hello mam,
    i don’t know how to express gratitude these work , you have done. I believe, you are living millions of heart all over the world and you will be.
    Mam i want to clarify myself with your help. In table completion ,

    In passage: By the mid-1860s london was connected with New York and ten years later messages could be exchanged between London and Bombay in minutes.

    My answer: Only “in minutes” for massages to arrive from Bombay.
    Correct answer: “minutes”.
    I wrote “in minutes” as i think it gives a full expression. Have a good day.

    • A table completion is not the same as a sentence completion question. One requires just brief notes and the other requires grammatically correct sentences to be completed. We don’t use articles or prepositions in most notes, but we do in sentences.

      • Austine says

        This reply has lots of insights. Thanks Liz for all you do for us all around the world.

  21. Christopher Pereira Tapia says

    3/4 best luck next time :). very helpful material though. Thanks, Liz!!!

  22. Okobia Endurance Oseyi says

    4/4

  23. Liz your are the best

  24. Got 4/4, thanks. Can I use all capital letters here

  25. Got 4/4 with the help of articles a,the and proposition such as for.

  26. Nasreen says

    I got 4/4😀
    Thanks it’s really helpfull

  27. Nasreen says

    4/4
    😀

  28. prahlad says

    i got 3/4

  29. Hi Liz
    You recommend using all caps for listening and reading. However I have heard from someone that in reading we should only write answers as they are given in question paragraph. e.g. for question 1, rather than writing ‘PLAIN PACKAGING’ one should write ‘plain packaging’ as this is how it is given in the reading-text. But then beginning a sentence like this seems a folly, it should be ‘Plain packaging’.

    Please help in clarifying as to what should one do in such cases. Also please do tell if it is okay to use all caps in listening as well?

    • Yes, it’s fine to use all capital letters for listening and reading. It’s easier for the person marking to read. You can confirm this at your test center or with IELTS Official. You should learn to start confirming information with original sources – this will help you learn whose advice you can and can’t trust. You also need to learn the difference between fixed rules for IELTS and recommendations for IELTS.

  30. 3/4
    Advertising instead of promotion

    thank you

  31. Vishal Soni says

    Hi, for answer 4, the sentence in the question is – “Packets are… ” – in which ‘Packets’ is plural. Hence shouldn’t the answer be ‘Silent Salesmen’?

    • If you look at the reading passage, the word isn’t used in that way “no surprise therefore to learn that they have become known as the “silent salesman”.

  32. Simarpreet says

    Hi Liz ,
    There was one question in which the answer was not supposed to be not more than 2 words .For example:What was the name used to refer to the first colour he invented ? According to me the answer was MAUVE . But in the answer key of the book it was written :mauve(was/is). Can you please tell me that what is the intent of these words written in brackets , do i need to use them while answering . Is it mandatory to answer in two words for not more than two words question.

  33. Saeed Aziz says

    Using slash / in answers for ONE-word questions is legal in IELTS reading test
    where / represents ” Or” and it’s already found in IELTS Cambridge books.

  34. Your such a wonderful person…May GOD continually bless you and perfect your health and all that concerns you. Thank you

  35. Likhith says

    For Question1: _________ is the most recent strategy to tackle the problem of smoking..

    Can I write Plain packing?
    As it is at the start of sentence and as per grammar we need to use first letter Capital in a sentence.

  36. Will “MOBILE BILLBOARDS” be a wrong answer?
    I wrote the answer in the plural form because it seemed grammatically correct for the sentence..

  37. Salome Barraza says

    hello liz

    i got 4/4 thank you for your great help

  38. I got 4/4, thank you Liz.

  39. Zeshan Shahzad says

    Thanks it’s really great work

  40. Ravi Darji says

    Hi Liz,

    I have a doubt regarding the answer in reading exam, that can I write answer in upper case?
    As Instance,

    Q) Packets are seen as being the ………………………………………….. in the cigarette industry.
    A) silent salesman

    Can I submit answer like SILENT SALESMAN ?

  41. 4/4 The last question was challenging Mobile Billboard or Silent Salesman.

  42. Rachita Dutta says

    I got 4/4 yay!

  43. Fatemeh says

    Hi Liz,

    I got 4/4. Thank you for the lesson.

  44. saurav says

    Dear Liz i can easily solve this type of questions but i find really hard about those questions which British council has uploaded in it’s website in reading portion.

    Are this types of questions are different from the question pattern of british council website?
    Here i have mention the link.
    takeielts.britishcouncil.org/prepare-tests/reading-practice-test-1-academic/reading-passage-1
    Dear Liz i humbly request you to check the link once and suggest me as how i can score good marks in that question?
    i will be patiently waiting for your suggestion.

    your faithful student
    saurav

  45. May Basco says

    Hi Ms. Liz,

    I got 4/4.
    Thank you Ms. Liz. This IELTS lesson is a great help for everyone aspiring to have a good band score. God bless you more!

    May

  46. chaterine says

    Thank you for sharing, it’s so helpful. You’re so kind! GBU <3

  47. Ruchi says

    hi liz.
    i gave my ielts exam twice and both the exam i received R 5.5
    rest all was above 6.5
    and final time again m giving it and hoping for the best result. i could realy find the improvement in my reading through your blog.
    as soon as my result is annouced i’ll surely post in your blog

  48. Santosh acharya says

    tnx mam for helping us giving such questions.I also got 5/5

  49. nagesh says

    i gave exam for 2 times then also i got 5.5band plz give guidance how to improve score.

    • You will need to improve your level of English and avoid making so many errors.

  50. Mohsin says

    Liz, your videos are superb ! I watched your videos, and especially IELTS Writing Task 1 it was fabulous, the only thing is that i was looking for the same videos for IELTS Reading, but i couldn’t find them.
    Still thought, thank a lot for all this, it really helped.

  51. Aubrey says

    I really though “market remains” is the answer for question #2.
    i got 3/4.. not bad.

    • RostenLaws says

      same, struggling between ‘plain market’ and ‘market remains’, chose the latter one.

  52. Abum Mensah says

    Thank you for these essential lessons on IELTS. I am Mensah from Ghana

  53. fahad says

    thank u Ma’am for that much great effort u did for ur students .We are really blessed to have u.there is a request u must start making videos on basic grammar too..

  54. jabal nur says

    dear liz
    hi, my name is jabal. I am from Indonesia. I have never taken ielts before but now I’m practicing it by using your really helpfdul blog..thank u for that miss liz…are u a lecturer in UK University anyway?

  55. Hi Liz,
    Thank your very much for all your efforts and support!
    Got 3/4 because of a silly mistake as always not reading exactly what the q has asked for!!
    wrote “Silent salesmen” AND “mobile billboards” :/

    I must practice reading the instructions instead ; )

    I have always had some issues following the instructions, how to solve such a problem in your opinion?

    • I’m sorry if it bothers you, but I have the same question with Brooke and was really glad to find it down here. I clicked the link but it’s unavailable. Could you please send me another link, it would be great to have answers for my question. Thabk you so much!

      • The link, which I have now deleted, was just to a page about me taking a break from the website and has been removed. To comment on her mistake in the reading answer, you are only allowed two words for your answer so you can’t have both silent salesman AND mobile billboard as your answer because it would go over the word limit.

  56. Thanx so much Liza ^_^

  57. Hi liz,

    it is the first time to address you and ask question , so can answer the reading question without understanding the passage?
    kind regards
    anwar

    • You need to understand the sentences surrounding the answer for most questions, rather than the whole passage. However, for matching headings you need t understand the main aim of each paragraph.
      Liz

  58. Sanone (from Saigon) says

    Hello to you,
    For the question 3, is “advertising” an acceptable answer?

    • No because the article clearly shows that the answer is the word “promotion”.
      All the best
      Liz

  59. Dear Liz,
    Your site is excellent for IELTS test takers. One question on filling blank spaces. Can you change the word form to fill in the (a) space. For example, in one practice exam, the question went like this- The average high school graduate makes a little more than one million dollars in 5 …………. . The closest answer in the passage was “adult’s working life”, and the model answer in the answer key was give as “a lifetime.” So can you actually have completely different words to fill in but conveying the same meaning or do the words have to be the exact from the passage/paragraph? How about other categories of the questions also?
    Cheers !

    PK

    • Sorry, I meant your site is excellent for those who are preparing for IELTS. Thank you so very much. I have benefited a lot from it. The last question in the earlier posting was supposed to mean- Are there other circumstances in the 14 different types of questions that are asked in IELTS Academic Reading (those that have blank spaces to be filled) where you can change the form of the word than what is given in the paragraph? Cheers!

      PK

    • The word form should not be changed at all. Words should be copied from the passage exactly as they are written. You can’t aim for copying the meaning, you must have the exact words. Here’s a link to the official IELTS website that states this: http://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/prepare-your-test/test-day-advice/reading-test-advice
      All the best
      Liz

      • Thank you very much for the reply. I appreciate it. I actually am very sorry to find some renowned practice books (authors) changing the form of the words and phrases, which as per your link, the IELTS tells the exam takers not to. Thanks again. Cheers!

        PK

        • Pankaj Karki says

          Dear Liz,
          Thanks for earlier answers to my questions. I went through your website extensively, and of course I practiced other materials feverishly also. I did not have much time to prepare for IELTS- only about 10 days. But your site helped me tremendously and I did EXTREMELY well in IELTS Academic, besides running a slight fever during exam day, which made me lose concentration-especially in the reading section. But thanks a billion. Your site is a wonder for those preparing for IELTS exams.

          PK

  60. Danieli says

    Hi Liz!
    I am wondering if in the ielts test all the 14 types of questions will be in the reading test, or some of them? Which are the often to be in there? Thank you very much for you help.
    Regards

  61. Hi: Liz
    Firstly ,thanks you for your great lessons, really since 2014 I have been doing the ielts
    several times actually, I did not receive writing band five recently I, find you block I,watched specially in writing then I did the exam I, got band five in writing and overall
    band I, feel I,am going to progress. anyway thanks LIZ

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